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Bendigo Victoria
Bendigo's "talking tram" in the main street
Population:	81,939 (2006)[1]  (20th)
• Density:	31.3/km² (81/sq mi)
Established:	1851
Elevation:	225 m (738 ft)
Area:	2,998.97 km² (1,157.9 sq mi)
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEST (UTC+11)
LGA:	City of Greater Bendigo
County:	Bendigo
Federal Division:	Division of Bendigo

Bendigo is a regional city in central Victoria, Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. It has a steadily growing urban population of about 100,000 people which places it as the third largest regional centre in Victoria after Geelong and Melbourne.

Originally known as Sandhurst, the city grew quickly out of the Victorian gold rush and became established as a major provincial hub and minor financial centre, being home to Australia's only provincially headquartered retail bank, the Bendigo Bank and the Bendigo Stock Exchange (BSX).

The municipality covers an area of 3000 square kilometres and includes Bendigo, Quarry Hill, Golden Square, Kangaroo Flat, Eaglehawk, Epsom, White Hills, Marong, Lockwood, Lockwood South, Ravenswood, Sebastian, Elmore, Heathcote, Maiden Gully, Spring Gully, Strathfieldsaye, Lake Eppalock, Axedale, Goornong, Raywood and Huntly, which encompasses a total population of almost 140,000. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst, however, has around 220,000 inhabitatants.

Bendigo is notable for its Victorian architectural heritage.

Contents 1 History 2 Features 2.1 Architectural heritage 2.2 Parks and gardens 3 Industry 3.1 Tourism 3.2 Commerce 3.3 Manufacturing 3.4 Human Services 3.5 Education 3.6 Farming & agriculture 3.7 Mining 4 Transport 5 Culture and events 5.1 Media 5.2 Music 5.3 Sport 6 Climate 7 Sister cities 8 Notable people 9 References 10 See also 11 External links

In 1851, Mrs Margaret Kennedy and Mrs Farrell, wives of two farmhands from the Ravenswood sheep run, found gold in the Bendigo creek. Word of the discovery spread quickly and soon after the township of Sandhurst was established. Official town planning commenced in 1854 and by 1857, Sandhurst was connected by telegraph to Melbourne. The grand Town Hall was commissioned in 1859 and the Melbourne to Sandhurst railway commenced operations in 1862. Less than a decade later, in 1871, Sandhurst was proclaimed a City. By the 1880s, the city was considered the richest in the world due to the size of the local goldfields^[2]. It was not until 1891 that the city's name was changed to Bendigo, in honour of the bare knuckled boxer, William "Abednego" Thompson, whose name had been lent to the creek where gold was first discovered.

As a legacy of the gold boom Bendigo has many magnificent ornate buildings built in a late Victorian colonial style, contributing to a picturesque "French" cityscape. Many buildings are on the Victorian Heritage Register and registered by the National Trust of Australia. Prominent buildings include the Bendigo Town Hall (1859, 1883-85), Post Office, Law Courts (1892-96), Shamrock Hotel (1897), Institute of Technology and Memorial Military Museum (1921) all in the Second Empire style.

Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral, a large sandstone church, is the third largest cathedral in Australia and one of the largest cathedrals in the Southern Hemisphere. The main building was completed between 1896-1908 and the soaring spire between 1954 and 1977.

Fortuna is a large surviving Victorian mansion.

Many other examples of Bendigo's classical architecture rank amongst the finest classical commercial buildings in Australia and include the Colonial Bank building (1887) and the former Masonic Hall (1873-74) which is now a performing arts centre.

Bendigo's Joss House, a historic temple, was built in the 1860s by Chinese miners and is the only surviving building of its kind in regional Victoria which continues to be used as a place of worship.

The historic Bendigo Tram Sheds and Power Station (1903) now house Bendigo's tramway museum.

The Queen Elizabeth Oval still retains its ornate 1901 grandstand.

Sacred Heart Cathedral	Interior of the Sacred Heart Cathedral	Bendigo Post Office	Bendigo Court House
Shamrock Hotel	A diverse range of pre-war building styles at Charing Cross

The central city is skirted by Rosalind Park, a Victorian style garden featuring statuary and a large blue stone viaduct.

The main entrance corner of the park is on the intersection known as the Charing Cross, formerly the intersection of two main tram lines (now only one). It features a large statue of Queen Victoria. The Charing Cross road junction features the large ornate Alexandria fountain (1881) and is built on top of a wide bridge which spans the viaduct. The park elevates toward Camp Hill, which features a historic school and former mine poppet head.

Further from the city is Lake Weroona, a large ornamental lake, adjacent to the Bendigo Botanical Gardens.

Bendigo is growing rapidly, whilst small surrounding rural towns (such as Elmore, Rochester, Inglewood, Dunolly) are in steep decline. The 2005 Bendigo Council Annual Report indicated about 13% of the workforce are employed in manufacturing.

Tourism, based on the old gold industry, is important and includes prominent attractions such as the Central Deborah Goldmine , Discovery Science and Technology Centre and the Bendigo tramways (all three of which make up the Bendigo Trust, a council-intertwined organisation dedicated to preserving Bendigo's heritage). There have been several plans to enhance tourism in the area, including a theme park and extensions of the tourist tram around Lake Weeroona.

The main retail centre of Bendigo is the central business district, with the suburbs of Eaglehawk, Kangaroo Flat and Strathdale also having shopping districts.

The city is home to Australia's only provincial stock exchange, the Bendigo Stock Exchange (BSX), founded in the 1860s.

The city is the home of the headquarters of Bendigo Bank, established in 1858 as a building society it is now a large retail bank with community bank branches throughout Australia. The bank is headquartered in Bendigo, which is a major employer in the city (it also has a regional office at Melbourne Docklands).

Telecommunications provider AAPT has its call-centre based here^[3], as is the home of Bendigo Community Telco (founding subsidiary of Community Telco Australia).

After the gold rush Bendigo developed a manufacturing industry. Little of that now remains but there is a large foundry which makes train and vehicle parts and there is also a rubber factory. The Thales Australia (formerly ADI Limited) is an important heavy engineering company. Australia Defence Apparel is another key defence industry particpant making military and police uniforms and bullet proof vests. Intervet (formerly Ausvac) is an important biotechnology company, producing vaccines for animals.

The major industry in Bendigo is now health, with a Base Hospital, and a very large old people's and rehabilitation home (The Anne Caudle centre) with about 600 beds. Psychiatric services are notably inadequate. The medium security gaol HM Prison Bendigo was located in the city until closure in mid January of 2006.

Bendigo Senior Secondary College is the largest VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) provider in the State. Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE.
Catholic College Bendigo follows close after, which ranges from years 7-9 at the first campus and 10-12 at the second campus.
The Bendigo campus of La Trobe University is also a large and growing educational institution.

The surrounding area, or "gold country", is quite harsh rocky land with scrubby regrowth vegetation. This "box-ironbark forest" is used for timber (mainly sleepers and firewood) and beekeeping. It is proposed to divert it to ecotourism, but there is considerable scepticism about its potential in this respect.^{[citation needed]}

Sheep and cattle are grazed in the cleared areas. There are some large poultry and pig farms. Some relatively fertile areas are present along the rivers and creeks, where wheat and other crops such as canola are grown. The area produces premium wines, including shiraz, from a growing viticulture industry. Salinity is a problem in many valleys, but is under control. There is a relatively small eucalyptus oil industry.

One of the major revolutions in gold mining came when fields like Bendigo but also Ballarat, Ararat, Victoria, and the gold fields close to Mount Alexander turn out to have large gold deposits below the superficial alluvial deposits that were previously (partially) mined out. Gold was found in these basaltic deposits called "blue stone", or were washed away into channels of ancient rivers. Tunnels as deep as 2000 or even 3000 feet (Stawell) were possible. ^[4]

Until overtaken in the 1880s by the Western Australia goldfields, Bendigo was the most productive Australian gold area, with a total production of over 20 million ounces (622 t). There is a large amount of gold still in the Bendigo goldfields, estimated to be at least as much again as what has been removed. The decline in mining was partly due to the depth of mines and the presence of water in the deep mines. With modern technology, Bendigo Mining NL has resumed mining and will likely be a large producer within 10 years.

Bendigo is about 150 km (93 miles) or less than two hours drive by car from Melbourne on the Calder Freeway. The residual dual carriageway roads (currently about 100 km) are progressively being replaced by freeway.

Regular rail services services to Melbourne operate over the Bendigo railway line that was upgraded as part of the Regional Fast Rail project completed in 2006. There is also an additional train services to and from Swan Hill, and Echuca.

As a regional city Bendigo also includes the following suburbs and localities: Ascot, Big Hill, California Gully, Deborah Triangle, Eaglehawk, Eaglehawk North, Epsom, Flora Hill, Golden Square, Ironbark, Jackass Flat, Junortoun, Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, Huntly, Maiden Gully, Mandurang, North Bendigo, Quarry Hill, Sailor's Gully, Spring Gully, Strathdale, Strathfieldsaye, West Bendigo and White Hills that are served by buses.

The Bendigo Art Gallery was founded in 1887 and is one of Australia's largest regional art galleries, many of the 19th century paintings depicting life in the goldfields. The Bendigo Art Gallery hosts Australia's richest painting prize, the Arthur Guy Memorial Prize, worth $50,000, which was launched in 2003.

The Capital Theatre is located next to the art gallery in View Street and hosts performing arts and live music.

The city hosts the Bendigo National Swap Meet every year in early November. A must for all car enthusiasts, it is regarded as the biggest in the southern hemisphere, and attracts people from all over Australia and the world

The Bendigo Easter Festival is held each year and attracts tens of thousands of tourists to the city over the Easter long weekend. Attractions include parades, exhibitions, and a street carnival.

Bendigo is served by two newspapers: The Advertiser and The Bendigo Weekly, five locally-based radio stations: Star FM, 3BO FM, ABC Local Radio, two national radio stations Triple J and ABC Radio National and the community stations The Fresh 895 and KLFM and five television stations: WIN, Prime, Southern Cross Ten, ABC and SBS. Prime and Ten maintain sales offices in the region, but do not produce any local programs.

Through great demand, live music venues such as The Newmarket, The Pub, and The Golden Vine, independent music promoters like Bendigo Bands, Bendigo Events Guide, and Launch! Bendigo, the City has eventually created a vibrant and exciting music scene. With Independent music artists like Bang!Bang!Aids!, The Monotones, and Jordan Allen, Bendigo has built up a reputation of housing exciting and promising new music.

Cricket and Australian rules football are the most popular sports in Bendigo. The Queen Elizabeth Oval hosts both sports.

The Bendigo Bombers are a semi-professional Australian Rules team that competes in the Victorian Football League.

The Bendigo region is also home to the historic Bendigo Football League, a strong local Australian rules football competition.

The Bendigo Cup is a famous horse racing event.

The Bendigo and District Cricket Association is the controlling body for ten senior cricket clubs within the Bendigo area.

The Bendigo Madison is a large prestigious cycling event, attracting international calibre cyclists.

Basketball is popular in Bendigo, the city is home to the Schweppes Centre, home of the Bendigo Braves. The stadiums hosted basketball during the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The city is also home to the Bendigo Basketball Association. Bendigo also has a team in the WNBL, the preimier national female basketball competition, The Bendigo Spirit.

Bendigo was the host to the second Commonwealth Youth Games, held from 30 November to 3 December 2004.

Bendigo Amateur Soccer League organises and manages soccer for over 2000 juniors and seniors in Central Victoria.

Rugby Union - The Bendigo Fighnting Miners are the only team in bendigo, it completes in the Victorian Country Rugby Union Competition and has won the premiership for the last four years in a row

Hockey - The CVHA Blazers represent Bendigo at State level in both male and female competitions. Bendigo Raiders Ice Hockey Team competes at both junior and senior levels within the Victorian Ice Hockey Association and is the only team to play that is located outside Melbourne. The ice rink in Bendigo is one of only two running in Victoria. Bendigo also has a Figure skating club called the Ice Skating Club of Bendigo which includes both beginner and national skaters.

Curling - Bendigo will host the Australian national curling championships on July 22-23 2007.

Judo/ JuJutsu

Baseball - There are 5 running clubs in the Bendigo area: Eaglehawk Falcons, Bendigo East, Maiden Gully Scots, Bendigo BLS Bushrangers and Strathfieldsaye Dodgers. All of these clubs have been struggling for players for the past 5 years in both senior and junior sides. Bendigo participates in the annual VPBL state championships held across the state. This year Bendigo has won the U/18 event held in Wangaratta, and the U/12s came 2nd in Mildura.

The climate in Bendigo is typically dry and mild temperate with cold winters. The mean minimum and maximum temperatures in January are 13-29 degrees Celsius. The mean minimum and maximum temperatures in July are 2-12 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature ever recorded was 43 degrees Celsius, and winter minimums of -5 degrees have been recorded frequently. The area surrounding the city can receive infrequent light snowfalls in winter.
The dryness of the area, drought and population continually puts pressure on the local water supply and the city has some of the harshest water restrictions in Australia, with no watering outside the household. Local water storages have fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded and this is forcing the Victorian state government to build a "superpipe" which will connect Bendigo and Ballarat to a larger supply of water before the town runs out of water. The superpipe is to be completed by September 2007 which is when the water storages are set to dry up. Tornadoes have been seen around the area of Bendigo and, although rare, one passed though Eaglehawk and other parts of Bendigo in 2004 causing some damage.

• Penzance, United Kingdom
• Los Altos, California, United States of America
• Tianshui, China

• Kate DeAraugo - 2005 Australian Idol winner
• AFL players: Nick Dal Santo, Nathan Brown, Wayne Campbell, Troy Selwood, Adam Selwood, Colin Sylvia, Joel Selwood
• Alfred Henry O'Keeffe - New Zealand artist
• Craig White - English cricket player
• Colleen Hewett - singer and actress

Notes

General References

• City of Greater Bendigo: Bendigo's Heritage
• City of Greater Bendigo Annual Report 2005
• Victorian Heritage Register (1999), Heritage Victoria

• List of Mayors of Bendigo
• Bendigo Easter Festival
• HM Prison Bendigo
• Bendigo Senior Secondary College
• Flora Hill Secondary College
• Golden Square Secondary College
• Catholic College Bendigo
• Girton Grammar School

The external links in this article may not comply with Wikipedia's content policies. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links.

• BENDIGO - LOCAL and VISITOR INFORMATION
• Local council
• Local water authority
• Central Deborah Goldmine
• Discovery Science and Technology Centre
• Bendigo Tramways
• Bendigo Live
• Bendigo Community Telco
• La Trobe University, Bendigo Campus
• Local newspaper
• Australian Technical College Bendigo
• Bendigo Raiders Ice Hockey

v • d • e Suburbs and Towns in the City of Greater Bendigo Local Government Area
Suburbs:	Ascot · Bendigo · California Gully  · Eaglehawk · East Bendigo · Epsom · Flora Hill · Golden Gully · Golden Square · Ironbark · Jackass Flat · Junortoun · Kangaroo Flat · Kennington · Long Gully · Maiden Gully · North Bendigo · Quarry Hill · Sailors Gully · Spring Gully · Strathdale · Strathfieldsaye · West Bendigo · White Hills
Outlying Towns:	Axedale · Costerfield · Elmore · Goornong · Heathcote · Huntly · Marong · Mia Mia · Raywood · Redesdale

v • d • e Cities of Victoria, Australia
Melbourne
Ararat · Ballarat · Benalla · Bendigo · Geelong · Hamilton · Horsham · Moe · Morwell · Mildura · Portland · Sale · Shepparton · Swan Hill · Traralgon · Wangaratta · Warrnambool · Wodonga

Coordinates: 36°45′S, 144°16′E